In March 2023, SWISS officially unveiled its new first and business class, which will be debuting in 2025. The airline is marketing this product as “SWISS Senses.” I wanted to take an updated look at these plans, as we now have a better sense of exactly when this will be introduced, and also how long it’ll take to reconfigure existing aircraft.
In this post:
SWISS’ plans for new premium cabins
SWISS will launch its new first and business class product in 2025. With the current timeline, the expectation is that the first plane will feature these cabins as of the second quarter, so somewhere between April and June of 2025.
Lufthansa Group is harmonizing its premium products across airlines. Lufthansa has named its new seating concept Allegris, and this includes new first class suites and new business class seats. SWISS will be getting exactly the same seats, except with SWISS finishes.
Below are some pictures of SWISS’ new first class product. As you’d expect, this product features closable sliding doors, a personal wardrobe, a large seat table, seat heating and cooling, a wireless charging station, and a screen display that’s as wide as the suite. Much like on Lufthansa, the center suite can accommodate two people.
Below are some pictures of SWISS’ new business class product. Much like on Lufthansa, this is designed to meet a wide range of wishes and needs. Seating options include a double seat for passengers traveling together, and some seats with sliding doors. The business class seats feature heating and cooling, as well as wireless charging stations. All seats will feature direct aisle access.
Which planes will get SWISS’ new premium cabins?
For context, SWISS’ long haul fleet currently consists of the following planes:
- 12 Boeing 777-300ERs
- 14 Airbus A330-300s
- Five Airbus A340-300s
SWISS has no plans to retire its 777s or A330s, though the current plan is to retire A340s as of 2025. Furthermore, SWISS is expected to take delivery of 10 Airbus A350-900s, which are part of the larger Lufthansa Group order.
So, what’s the plan for the new cabins being installed? They’ll be introduced from 2025 onwards:
- They’ll be installed on A350-900s, which will be newly delivered as of 2025
- A330-300s and 777-300ERs will also be reconfigured with these products
- The plan is for all SWISS long haul aircraft to feature the new SWISS Senses cabins by 2028
SWISS has published the seat map for the reconfigured A330.
It seems like the new first and business class will be a tight squeeze on the A330, given that the cabin is materially narrower than on the A350. In particular, I imagine that double suite in the center section will be quite a tight fit.
I’m also curious if SWISS might have more first class seats on its A350-900s than Lufthansa does. Lufthansa will only have one row, while I wonder if SWISS could have two. After all, SWISS’ entire long haul fleet has first class, while only a small portion of Lufthansa’s does. Clearly SWISS sees more demand for first class.
SWISS already has an excellent first class product, and in particular has a phenomenal ground experience in Zurich. I’m excited to see the airline take this to the next level.
Bottom line
SWISS plans to introduce a new first and business class product. That product will be known as SWISS Senses — it’ll be the same as Lufthansa Allegris, except with SWISS branding.
The airline will install these cabins on newly delivered A350s, which will be delivered as of the second quarter of 2025. Furthermore, as of that point, we can also expect that A330s and 777s will be reconfigured with these cabins, with the retrofits being complete by 2028. Hopefully that timeline sticks.
What do you make of SWISS’ new premium cabin plans?
Virgin have their upper class at the front of A330s and I wasn’t aware they had to carry weight balancing dead weight. It does seem to be a poorly planned and executed revamp by Swiss.
5 and not 10 A350
Swiss's long haul premium cabins (and its main cabin products) are in dire need of a facelift, specifically on the A330-300, which is the backbone of the long haul fleet. The 77Ws are newer, and thus look a bit better, aesthetically, but overall, this is a positive development for an airline that is the crown jewel of the sprawling LH empire, even if service-wise and punctuality-wise, LX has slipped badly.
Would love to know who in Lufthansa Group drove the hard pitch on these seats and the multitude of options (both in Business and the two variations in First), and the rest of the teams imagining what a nightmare this would be to implement and handle with customers (pricing complexity, customer expectation management, customer education, etc.). You practically need a walkthrough before selecting your seat in the Business cabin.
Swiss A330 and A350 configuration has already been confirmed. Both will have only one row of first class.
The B777 hasn't been confirmed yet, it will be the last to be configured anyways. But I believe, it being a larger aircraft will likely get 2 rows of first class seats.
I look forward to flying the new product once it’s launched in 2036.
Nearly 2/3 of its advertising video has NOTHING to do with the seats; it only features the model standing and walking around........
It's about how it makes you FEEL, man. It's European. It's chic.
It's SWISS
Disappointing reduction in 1st class capacity from a whole cabin to just the first row of business. No 1st-only WC?
That's not true. There would be a separate first class (although only one row for A333/A359) cabin with a first class-reserved toilet.
Apparently the 777s will get two rows, 330 one row. East coast flights would only get 3 seats. 3 seems like such a weird number.
@ Cedric -- Thanks! Has that been confirmed anywhere that you've seen, or just rumored?
@ Ben it was mentioned last year as Swiss released the seat plan for the A330 along with the info that the A330s would be the first to be reconfigured after which the B777 would get the new seats till 2027.
When you say "Much like on Lufthansa" do you mean "Exactly like on Lufthansa"?
@ david -- Hah, indeed...
Even thoush they managed to make the swiss version more sophisticated and snazzy whereas Lufthansa's Allegris business class already looks outdated and tacky. Those greys and beige tones with the plastic finishes look extremely tacky. This is quite disappointing aestheticallly.